Overaccumulation

Part of a series on the
Marxian critique of political economy
Concepts Capitalist mode of production Capital Commodity Concrete and abstract labour Critique of political economy Means of production Mode of production Productive forces Relations of production Socially necessary labour time Socialization Wage labour Wage slavery Wertkritik Wertabspaltungskritik Value-form
Topics Crisis theory Imperialism Historical materialism Technological unemployment Falling profit-rate tendency
Works Outlines of a Critique of Political Economy Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844 Wage Labour and Capital A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy Grundrisse Das Kapital Theories of Surplus Value Value, Price and Profit
People Karl Marx Friedrich Engels Paul Lafargue Roman Rosdolsky Étienne Balibar Robert Kurz Mark Fisher Claus Peter Ortlieb Geoff Pilling Moishe Postone NML: Hans-Georg Backhaus Helmut Reichelt Hans-Jürgen Krahl
Journals Monthly Review New School Economic Review Crisis and Critique Historical Materialism Socialist register Capital & Class
Related topics Critique of political economy Economics Marxist sociology
Socialism portal
v t e

Overaccumulation is one of the potential causes of the crisis of capital accumulation. In crisis theory, a crisis of capital occurs due to what Karl Marx refers to as the internal contradictions inherent in the capitalist system which result in the reconfiguration of production. The contradiction in this situation is realized because of the condition of capitalism that requires the accumulation of capital through the continual reinvestment of surplus value.

Accumulation can reach a point where the reinvestment of capital no longer produces returns. When a market becomes flooded with capital, a massive devaluation occurs. This overaccumulation is a condition that occurs when surpluses of devalued capital and labor exist side by side with seemingly no way to bring them together.^[1] The inability to procure adequate value stems from a lack of demand.

The term "overaccumulation" is also used in a neoclassical context.^{[2][further explanation needed]}